FAQ

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Is the TOCON calibrated?

No, the TOCON is not calibrated. If required, the sglux calibration laboratory offers an individual calibration service including a calibration certificate. This document assigns the voltage output of one specific TOCON to the irradiation of a specific UV radiation source.
As-delivered the TOCON is sensitive in the specified range. Example: A TOCON_ABC6 is sensitive between 180 nW/cm² and 1.8 mW/cm².
This means that the TOCON will saturate (output voltage = input voltage) at approx. 1.8 mW/cm². At the lower end a radiation of 180 nW/cm² will still output a couple of mV. While selecting a TOCON, the most important thing to consider is to not illuminate the TOCON until saturation level. A saturation will not damage the TOCON but likely the voltage output will no longer be linear to the radiation input because any increase of radiation below the saturation point will not further increase the output voltage.

What is the maximum signal output of a TOCON?

The theoretical maximum signal output is always a little less (approx. 5%) than the supply voltage.

Do I need an external amplifier?

No, no additional amplifier is required.

How can I use my TOCON?

Please use a standard voltmeter to read out the signal. Caution! Wrong wiring of power supply can lead to immediate destruction of the device. Please refer to our application note delivered with the device.

What about the TOCON scatter?

A TOCON is a sophisticated product where a lot of different components create the TOCONs function. All of these components properties, e.g. the efficiency of the UV-sensing SiC chip or the gain resistors value scatter within a certain range. This results in the TOCONs total scatter of +-20%. per class and the availability of a number of classes for each TOCON type. This means, if you buy a certain quantity of TOCONs it could happen that one TOCON e.g. outputs a voltage of 1000 mV at a certain radiation. The less sensitive TOCON within the batch may output 1000 mV minus 20% = 800 mV and the most sensitive TOCON may output 1200 mV. In most cases the scatter does not cause problems if suited analogue or digital output voltage analysing components are used.However, one very important point needs to be considered: The TOCON must never saturate while illuminated with UV radiation. Saturation means that the TOCON's output voltage Vout equals to the power supply voltage Vin. Saturation will not damage the TOCON but means the output voltage is no longer proportional to the radiation to be measured.This information is quite important for developers who purchase a certain sample quantity or just one TOCON and consider to order a volume quantity. To make sure that not a single TOCON of this volume quantity will saturate in use you should make sure that the sample(s) do not output a voltage higher than 50% of the input voltage while illuminated with the maximum radiation to be measured (e.g. the radiation of a new lamp). If Vout is higher than half of Vin one may try to increase the distance to the UV source or to purchase a less sensitive TOCON (see table below).This +-20% scatter per class is a default value, and you should prepare your surrounding circuitry to handle TOCONs of several classes. If this causes problems, please contact us. By means of binning processes we feel able to reduce the scatter of the batch. However, please consider that also a reduced scatter still requires an individual calibration of each TOCON. Thus, usually scatter reduction does not create a technical benefit.

What is the output pin impedance (or the drive capability) of the TOCON sensor?

The TOCON can drive resistive loads as low as 2 kOhms, but we recommend not to stress this limit unnecessarily. In normal environments an input impedance of >= 100 kOhm is recommended for the readout circuitry. In very harsh (EMI/EMC/noisy) surroundings impedances of >= 10 kOhm can be considered taking into account a slight reduction in output swing.The TOCON is stable for capacitive loads up to 30 pF under all circumstances. If more capacitive loading can not be avoided a series resistor of 10 Ohms ... 100 Ohms may be required to ensure stability up to few hundred nF.